How to write a winning scholarship essay - Gen Tanabe, Kelly Tanabe 2018

Answer the underlying question
Essay writing workshop

Have you ever been asked one question but felt like there was an underlying question that was really being asked? Maybe a parent has asked you something like, “Tell me about your new friend Karen.” But what your parent is really asking is, “Tell me about your new friend Karen.

Are her 12 earrings and tattoo-laden arms a sign that you shouldn’t be spending so much time with her?”

In most cases the essay question is just a springboard for you to answer the real question the scholarship judges want addressed. An organization giving an award for students who plan to study business might ask, “Why do you want to study business?” But the underlying question they are asking is, “Why do you want to study business, and why are you the best future business person we should gift with our hard earned money?”

For every scholarship you will be competing with students who share similar backgrounds and goals. If you are applying to an award that supports students who want to become doctors, you can bet that 99%

of the students applying also want to become doctors. Therefore, the goal of every scholarship judge is to determine the best applicant out of a pool of applicants who at first glance look very similar.

So let’s distill the underlying question that the scholarship judges really want answered; that is, Why do you deserve to win? (Your answer should not be, “Because I need the money!”) Think about these two hypothetical essay topics: The Farmers Association asks about the future of farming. The Historical Society wants an analysis of the importance of history. While at first these two questions seem unrelated, they are both driving at the same thing: Tell us why you deserve to win.

In addressing either of these topics, you would need to recognize the underlying question. When writing the Farmers Association essay, you could discuss the general condition of farms and farmers, but you’d better be sure to include how you fit into the future of farming.

Similarly when answering the Historical Society’s question, you could write about history in any way that you please; but you should also include if not focus on your own past and future contributions to the field of historical research or preservation. Use the essay question as a way to prove to the scholarship committee that you are the worthiest applicant for the award.